Posted on 05/05/2007 12:06:47 PM PDT by PreciousLiberty
May 4, 2007 — An unemployed former aerospace engineer has built a better spacesuit glove, claiming the first payoff in the NASA-backed Centennial Challenges competition. Peter Homer clinched a $200,000 prize in this week's Astronaut Glove Competition with a spacesuit glove that proved more comfortable, durable and flexible than gloves currently used by spacewalking astronauts.
NASA turned to cash-prize competitions in an effort to solve some of its technical problems with low-cost, innovative solutions.
Homer, for example, bought most of the materials for his gloves at local shops in his hometown of Southwest Harbor, Maine, and on eBay, said Alan Hayes with Volanz Aerospace, the nonprofit educational organization NASA selected to run the competition.
Among the five teams competing for the top prize, two dropped out, leaving Homer facing two rivals.
"When I started, I didn't know anything about making a glove," Homer said in a statement after the two-day competition, which ended Thursday. "I had to learn that, and also design and make my own test equipment, metal parts and do my own fabrication. It was a great learning experience along the way."
Homer spent 10 years working as a design engineer for various aerospace firms before becoming a sales manager for computer and internet services companies. Most recently he was the director of a community service organization in Maine. He has been unemployed since February, Hayes said.
"I wanted to do this to show my kids that they can do anything they set their minds on," said Homer, who brought along his 14-year-old son to the competition.
(Excerpt) Read more at dsc.discovery.com ...
It also makes you think about how many great talents are forced out of jobs because of age or other factors...
Quick. Call Michael Jackson.
What's the difference?
“OK ... what does the one it’s replacing look like?
What’s the difference?”
There’s more information in the linked article. Imagine that.
Wouldn’t age discrimination, reverse discrimination and pork barreling diminish considerably if there were more competitive prizes offered like this?
For interesting information about other prizes initiatives from other agencies, as well as NASA:
http://www.spaceprojects.com/prizes
Are ANY presidential candidates besides Newt advocating a growing role of such prizes in government procurement? Not that I’m aware of.
If it fits to size, you win a prize.
200.jpg)
"I could've driven nonstop all the way to CALIFORNIA in one of those!"
You have to hand it to him, though...
Probably, but it seems more “suited” to male astronauts...
Several dozen media outlets worldwide have covered this breakthrough story, so hopefully the competitive prizes movement will be allowed to spread and people will increasingly stand up to pork barrelers across the globe:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1116001939&filter=0
According to this Houston Chronicle article:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/4776947.html
the current NASA glove is designed by Hamilton Sustrand. Any idea how much it costs, relative to that of this prize-contestant?
Anyhow, in less than a week NASA’s lunar regolith challenge gets underway out in California. Will it have a winner or will it be administered peculiarly in ways that yield numerous complaints from contestants like what we saw happen last October?
This weekend’s NASA prizes showdown has the makings of a rather exciting one:
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/17715/
Winning Space Glove Design Named
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